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II Esdras 2, RSV

2:1 "Thus says the Lord: I brought this people out of bondage, and I gave them commandments through my servants the prophets; but they would not listen to them, and made my counsels void.

2:2 The mother who bore them says to them, `Go, my children, because I am a widow and forsaken.

2:3 I brought you up with gladness; but with mourning and sorrow I have lost you, because you have sinned before the Lord God and have done what is evil in my sight.

2:4 But now what can I do for you? For I am a widow and forsaken. Go, my children, and ask for mercy from the Lord.'

2:5 I call upon you, father, as a witness in addition to the mother of the children, because they would not keep my covenant,

2:6 that you may bring confusion upon them and bring their mother to ruin, so that they may have no offspring.

2:7 Let them be scattered among the nations, let their names be blotted out from the earth, because they have despised my covenant.

2:8 "Woe to you, Assyria, who conceal the unrighteous in your midst! O wicked nation, remember what I did to Sodom and Gomorrah,

2:9 whose land lies in lumps of pitch and heaps of ashes. So will I do to those who have not listened to me, says the Lord Almighty."

2:10 Thus says the Lord to Ezra: "Tell my people that I will give them the kingdom of Jerusalem, which I was going to give to Israel.

2:11 Moreover, I will take back to myself their glory, and will give to these others the everlasting habitations, which I had prepared for Israel.

2:12 The tree of life shall give them fragrant perfume, and they shall neither toil nor become weary.

2:13 Ask and you will receive; pray that your days may be few, that they may be shortened. The kingdom is already prepared for you; watch!

2:14 Call, O call heaven and earth to witness, for I left out evil and created good, because I live, says the Lord.

2:15 "Mother, embrace your sons; bring them up with gladness, as does the dove; establish their feet, because I have chosen you, says the Lord.

2:16 And I will raise up the dead from their places, and will bring them out from their tombs, because I recognize my name in them.

2:17 Do not fear, mother of sons, for I have chosen you, says the Lord.

2:18 I will send you help, my servants Isaiah and Jeremiah. According to their counsel I have consecrated and prepared for you twelve trees loaded with various fruits,

2:19 and the same number of springs flowing with milk and honey, and seven mighty mountains on which roses and lilies grow; by these I will fill your children with joy.

2:20 Guard the rights of the widow, secure justice for the fatherless, give to the needy, defend the orphan, clothe the naked,

2:21 care for the injured and the weak, do not ridicule a lame man, protect the maimed, and let the blind man have a vision of my splendor.

2:22 Protect the old and the young within your walls;

2:23 When you find any who are dead, commit them to the grave and mark it, and I will give you the first place in my resurrection.

2:24 Pause and be quiet, my people, because your rest will come.

2:25 Good nurse, nourish your sons, and strengthen their feet.

2:26 Not one of the servants whom I have given you will perish, for I will require them from among your number.

2:27 Do not be anxious, for when the day of tribulation and anguish comes, others shall weep and be sorrowful, but you shall rejoice and have abundance.

2:28 The nations shall envy you but they shall not be able to do anything against you, says the Lord.

2:29 My hands will cover you, that your sons may not see Gehenna.

2:30 Rejoice, O mother, with your sons, because I will deliver you, says the Lord.

2:31 Remember your sons that sleep, because I will bring them out of the hiding places of the earth, and will show mercy to them; for I am merciful, says the Lord Almighty.

2:32 Embrace your children until I come, and proclaim mercy to them; because my springs run over, and my grace will not fail."

2:33 I, Ezra, received a command from the Lord on Mount Horeb to go to Israel. When I came to them they rejected me and refused the Lord's commandment.

2:34 Therefore I say to you, O nations that hear and understand, "Await your shepherd; he will give you everlasting rest, because he who will come at the end of the age is close at hand.

2:35 Be ready for the rewards of the kingdom, because the eternal light will shine upon you for evermore.

2:36 Flee from the shadow of this age, receive the joy of your glory; I publicly call on my Savior to witness.

2:37 Receive what the Lord has entrusted to you and be joyful, giving thanks to him who has called you to heavenly kingdoms.

2:38 Rise and stand, and see at the feast of the Lord the number of those who have been sealed.

2:39 Those who have departed from the shadow of this age have received glorious garments from the Lord.

2:40 Take again your full number, O Zion, and conclude the list of your people who are clothed in white, who have fulfilled the law of the Lord.

2:41 The number of your children, whom you desired, is full; beseech the Lord's power that your people, who have been called from the beginning, may be made holy."

2:42 I, Ezra, saw on Mount Zion a great multitude, which I could not number, and they all were praising the Lord with songs.

2:43 In their midst was a young man of great stature, taller than any of the others, and on the head of each of them he placed a crown, but he was more exalted than they. And I was held spellbound.

2:44 Then I asked an angel, "Who are these, my lord?"

2:45 He answered and said to me, "These are they who have put off mortal clothing and have put on the immortal, and they have confessed the name of God; now they are being crowned, and receive palms."

2:46 Then I said to the angel, "Who is that young man who places crowns on them and puts palms in their hands?"

2:47 He answered and said to me, "He is the Son of God, whom they confessed in the world." So I began to praise those who had stood valiantly for the name of the Lord.

2:48 Then the angel said to me, "Go, tell my people how great and many are the wonders of the Lord God which you have seen."

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